This work presents the Causal Structural Potential Theory (CSPT), a macroscopic phenomenological framework in non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The theory quantifies the efficiency of causal amplification: how a small initial energy input can trigger long-range, long-lasting physical causal displacements by directing macroscopic thermodynamic dissipative flows. The core construct is the causal structural potential (CSP) defined as V = (I × T) / E, where I is the normalized causal displacement cardinality, T the causal chain characteristic time, and E the initial perturbation trigger cost. CSPT is valid only within the macroscopic coarse-grained domain and does not apply to quantum or chaotic regimes. The framework provides a unified measure for complex systems including cultural evolution, artificial intelligence, and network dynamics, while maintaining strict physicalism and clear applicability boundaries.
Ruifeng Liang (Wed,) studied this question.